Breakaway Books

Authored by Mervyn Peake; Published 1946; Fantasy

⭐️⭐️ / 🏖️

I am the first to admit that books without an abundance of action are my downfall. An excellent example of this weakness: my experience with Titus Groan. 

Titus Groan tells the story of the birth of the fifty-seventh earl of Gormenghast. His birth brings change to a castle seemingly stuck in its ways: With Titus’s birth comes an upstart, Steerpike, looking to grab power; the rebellion of his aunts, who are tired of their powerlessness; and a new wet-nurse, Keda, whose life is changed by her time in the castle. Steerpike’s machinations upset the balance of power in the castle and bring him all the way from the kitchens to a place beside the royal family. Will his ambition end there?

This novel is a great example of the type of book that I hate to read. I’m sorry; it’s not a comment on the quality of the writing. It’s a comment on the fact that I prefer my books to be at least 70% action or dialogue or *something* happening. I do *not* like when the author spends page after page after page setting the scene or describing in detail precisely how a minor character shifted a teacup two inches to the right. I listened to Titus Groan rather than reading it, and I was constantly fighting a temptation to zone out because of the sheer amount of description packed into these pages. I was certain that I missed some of the action as my attention wandered–but no, I did not. There simply wasn’t much action.

My other gripe with this novel is that the characters–whom, I should note, are beloved by other readers for being “eccentric”–drove me up the wall. They strike me as one-dimensional, and I was constantly scratching my head trying to figure out why they were acting the way they were. Steerpike, of course, is the prime example. Yes, he wants power–but why? Is there a reason why he seeks to become the most powerful individual in the castle? Some backstory of abuse or neglect? Or really anything about his past at all? Not a single whiff of his background is given to us. However, it must be Titus’s aunts, whose defining characteristic appears to be their stupidity, who annoy me the most. Could we not give them any positive characteristic at all? They are just vain, power-hungry, and dumb? I was simultaneously frustrated and offended for all of womankind.

I’m told that Titus Groan is a classic, and perhaps it is. It is simply not for me.